Unusual sound production mechanism in the triggerfish Rhinecanthus aculeatus (Balistidae)

Acoustic; Communication; Swimbladder; Polynesia; Tetraodontiformes; Animal Communication; Animal Fins; Animals; Movement; Sound; Video Recording; fish sounds; Balistidae; triggerfish; bioacoustics

Abstract :

[en] The ability to produce sound has been known for decades in Balistidae. Sounds of many species have been recorded and a variety of sound-producing mechanisms have been proposed, including teeth stridulation, collision of the buccal teeth and movements of the fins. The best-supported hypothesis involves movements of the pectoral fin against the lateral part of the swimbladder, called a drumming membrane. In this study, we describe for the first time the sounds made by the blackbar triggerfish Rhinecanthus aculeatus, which are like short drum rolls with an average duration of 85 ms, 193 Hz dominant frequency and 136 dB SPL level at 3 cm distance. The sounds are a series of pulses that result from alternate sweeping movements of the right and left pectoral fins, which push a system of three scutes that are forced against the swimbladder wall. Pulses from each fin occur in consecutive pairs. High-speed videos indicate that each pulse consists of two cycles. The first part of each cycle corresponds to the inward buckling of the scutes, whereas the second part of the cycle corresponds to an apparent passive recoil of the scutes and swimbladder wall. This novel sound production mechanism is probably found in many members of Balistidae because these peculiar scutes occur in other species in the family. Comparison of sound characteristics from fishes of different sizes shows that dominant frequency decreases with size in juveniles but not in adults. © 2017 Published by The Company of Biologists Ltd.

Research Center/Unit :

FOCUS - Freshwater and OCeanic science Unit of reSearch - ULiège

Disciplines :

Zoology

Author, co-author :

Parmentier, Eric ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département de Biologie, Ecologie et Evolution > Morphologie fonctionnelle et évolutive

Raick, Xavier ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département de Biologie, Ecologie et Evolution > Morphologie fonctionnelle et évolutive

Lecchini, D.; USR 3278 CNRS-EPHE-UPVD, CRIOBE, Paris Sciences Lettres (PSL), Moorea, French Polynesia, Laboratoire d'Excellence CORAIL, Moorea, French Polynesia

Boyle, K.; Département d'Ecologie et de Gestion de la Biodiversité, Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, 57 rue Cuvier, Paris Cedex 5, France

Vanwassenbergh, S.; Département d'Ecologie et de Gestion de la Biodiversité, Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, 57 rue Cuvier, Paris Cedex 5, France, Department of Biology, Universiteit Antwerpen, Universiteitsplein 1, Antwerpen, Belgium

Bertucci, Frédéric ; Université de Liège, Laboratoire de Morphologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive, AFFISH-RC, Institut de Chimie-B6C, Sart Tilman, Liège, Belgium

Kever, Loïc ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département de Biologie, Ecologie et Evolution > Morphologie fonctionnelle et évolutive

Language :

English

Title :

Unusual sound production mechanism in the triggerfish Rhinecanthus aculeatus (Balistidae)

Publication date :

2017

Journal title :

Journal of Experimental Biology

ISSN :

0022-0949

eISSN :

1477-9145

Publisher :

Company of Biologists Ltd

Volume :

220

Issue :

Pages :

186-193

Peer reviewed :

Peer Reviewed verified by ORBi

Development Goals :

14. Life below water

Name of the research project :

FRS-FNRS Grant T.0056.13; ANR-16-ACHN-0006-01; ANR-11-JSV7-012-01

Funders :

F.R.S.-FNRS - Fonds de la Recherche Scientifique
ANR - Agence Nationale de la Recherche

Data Set :

DATASET Unusual sound production mechanism in the triggerfish Rhinecanthus aculeatus (Balistidae)

Available on ORBi :

since 21 March 2018

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